Nothing Unexpected

Rating: 5/10 (25 November 2018)

This movie is exactly what it sets itself up as; giant robots versus monsters. Said creatures are built in the vein of Godzilla, in that you can basically tell they're rubber in the more close-up fight scenes. The robots are nicely designed, and the action scenes have solid pacing and fun to them.
That said, the plot is rather thin, which is almost a shock considering how long it takes to get going. Idris Elba's character is the most interesting, but still is a basket of tropes that doesn't go much of anywhere. The real highlight is Ron Perlman, who is the smartest character in the film. That's not a high bar to clear, but he is ahead of the game for the most part, and is a fun presence that lends some comic aspects that the film needs.
But mostly this involves people inside of cockpits screaming at each other about finishing things and killing things. If that's what your game is, this is your film. It's fancy, its creatures are imaginatively designed, but it's not something that's going to give you a lot to take home with you. Its drama is only skin deep, and its character development doesn't really happen, and it drags on far too long.